9th June - to LA

Well it is nearly over - well not really - we still have a day in the riotous LA - we are staying downtown - about a mile North East of the rioting - I contact the hotel - is it safe? - I await a response. 

We prepare early - an Uber to JFK at 10:30 - the app says we will be there by 11:15 - we say our good byes! - "you might have to come and see us from now on" says I

The Uber arrives on time to the very minute - soon we are speeding along the I90 with the rain keeping the windscreen wipers fully occupied. We are sad to say goodbye but are pleased to be heading home. 

As we arrive at JFK - there is construction everywhere you look - bridges forming overpasses - excavations that will form tunnels - buildings that will do something or other - everywhere billboards shout out - "we are building a new JFK" - "about time" thinks I 

There is still nothing from the hotel - the news reports about the riots continue to be concerning.

We head through check-in and security at terminal 5 - a problem with a disagreement between Bernie's boarding pass and passport! - her boarding pass has her birth date wrong - "it is easy to do" says I - 11/10 has become 10/11 - "you always get it wrong" says Bernie.

Everyone is nice and polite - their processes efficient and effective. The inside of the terminal? - ok - newish - acceptable - ready for the next 20 years? - perhaps!

Bernie has developed a dry cough - no sign of it yesterday - it is loud today! - she feels well but implements the strategy passed down to her by her mother - to the bar at JFK for a shot of whiskey!

We depart for LA on time to the minute but sit in a departure queue for 30 minutes while the rain falls without any real intention of washing anything away. 

The flight is long and full but ok - the facilities are fine save for the propensity of modern airlines to charge for anything that is susceptible to the application of a charge .

We arrive at lax - we are a little concerned - still nothing from the hotel - we line up at the green pillars and get the shuttle bus to LAX-it - taxi and Ubers everywhere - we take a taxi - we hope that the roads are clear and that the protesters are not causing to much chaos.

We approach downtown - quickly we become concerned - first one street is closed then another and another - the taxi driver circles and circles - we get within 300 meters of the hotel - the taxi driver gives up - he apologizes and we unload our bags - we walk around the corner straight into a thick police barracade - the big burly police are not interested in being helpful - "our hotel is just there" says Bernie - "don't care" says he - "how can we get there" - "don't care says" he.

We stand - we decide to go back and around - a Japanese-American smiles at us and gives us the thumbs up! 

We are in Little Tokyo - we wander through a small maze of Japanese shops - past protesters and protest observers and find our to the hotel and are showered inside by a security person.

"Where can we safely eat" we ask - "we have a restaurant on the second floor" says the agent. 

We settle in and are at the restaurant door in 10 minutes - a closed sign has been put up! - "come on! - is this the way to treat your guests" 

Not happy campers!

We find a small minimart in the foyer - grab a burrito and head to bed.

We are asleep for an hour when the noise outside makes sleep impossible - we watch the protest activities unfold on the street below.

Helicopters fly overhead - full blown fireworks rockets explode with a deafening noise and in a shower of sparks at our fifth floor window. 

Kids being villains - misfits finding a place to fit in - one misfit walks up and down rhymitically banging a hollow steel pipe against the pavement - commandeered police barricades are erected across the street - the temporary roof of sidewalk cafe is dismantled and used as a flaming barricade. 

These do not look like protesters - these are rioters - there are not a lot of them - but they are out to cause trouble.

The police don't respond and eventually they move on - some of the locals emerge to clear away the barricades.